Guess what day it is? It’s Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s social media TAKE OVER day, distilled into a convenient article for your reading pleasure! As joyfully addictive as scrolling through social media pages can be, we realize that there are some days when conspiring forces prevent us from getting our fix. Perhaps you were otherwise predisposed when we first unveiled our TAKE OVER with Viktoria Modesta across our social media accounts earlier this month. Craving an artistic pick-me-up? Wondering if there is a new-to-you creative individual whose efforts will part the clouds in your sky? This article is designed just for you!
Creative inspiration is akin to a spark of magic, isn’t it? Twelve times a year, we ask a different member of our art community if we can peek through their artistic lens of appreciation. Ohhh, the things you can learn about a person just by seeing what kind of imagery they gravitate toward.
Throughout the years, this once-a-month event has enabled us to revisit old artsy favorites as well as discover new gems. We are sure that the inspired curation of Viktoria Modesta, self-described Bionic Pop Artist and Creative Director, will deliver few tasty creative treats to your field of vision. Thank you for joining us and three cheers for Viktoria’s sharing and caring spirit!
Viktoria Modesta // Singer-Songwriter, Performance Artist and Model
Hey, I’m Viktoria Modesta, best known as a Bionic Pop Artist and Creative Director. For the majority of my life, I have worked in the intersection of music, performance art, and design, bringing elements of science and technology into my creative practice. I prefer to think of my aesthetic as aggressively positive and often challenge my audience and their perception of physical ability, turning their focus on the futuristic and conceptual vision of human potential.
So many amazing and extremely innovative artists push the boundaries of the human body and image. Matthew Barney, Alexander McQueen, Marie Chouinard, Hajime Saroyama, Hans Bellmer, and Ray Ceasar, to name a few.
During my TAKE OVER on Beautiful Bizarre’s social media pages today, I am shining light on inspiring imagery from contemporary creatives that really reflects my passion for redesigning the human body as well as my affinity for the future.
I appreciate the fact that these artists aren’t afraid of using mixed mediums to express the intensity of human emotion. Negative experiences and emotions tend to be forces that set you back but still give you the traction to spring forward, much like a bow and arrow.
I hope you are as inspired by these fabulous creatives as I am!
Monica Piloni // Various Sculptures
Brazil-born, Brussels-based sculptor Monica Piloni always creates art that moves me. Her earlier work – featuring empty heads and deconstructed body sculptures – brings to mind how women conform themselves to endure impossible situations. “Gangorra” is especially striking because of its infinite movement, forever hanging in the balance.
“Monica’s work seems to evoke the forces that act upon bodies, through an interweaving between appearance and essence, fact and fiction.” ~ Zipper Galeria press release
Ashraf Khoffash (aka Pandagunda) // Untitled digital art, 2020
Swedish visual artist Ashraf Khoffash, otherwise known as Pandagunda, is one of the very first digital artists who really caught my eye. In the world of graphic design, there aren’t many works that go beyond regular visual effects. There is a real art to lacing unbiological elements with emotion. In this case, Pandagunda’s graphics become their own deserved entity and character.
Lucy McRae // Photograph: “Hook and Eyes”, 2008
I have been lucky to call Lucy McRae my inspiration as well as my friend. Her work tickles all of my senses. There are countless types of visually stimulating art in different formats that explore a very visceral palette of human emotions. Lucy explores the body and our relationship with the future via design and augmentation in a way that is captivating yet also academically edgy.
These lines from Lucy’s website bio offer insight into her futuristic creative approach:
“Lucy McRae is a science fiction artist, filmmaker, inventor and body architect. Her work speculates on the future of human existence by exploring the limits of the body, beauty, biotechnology and the self. McRae works across installation, film, photography, artificial intelligence and edible technology. She is a thought leader who is exploring the cultural and emotional impacts science and cutting edge technology have on redesigning the body.”
Photo by Lucy McRae. Image concept by Lucy McRrae and Dutch textile artist Bart Hess.
Joseph Haxan // Photographs: “Sheltering on the Mountainside During a Storm” and “Stillness of Night, Totality Approaches”
I came across Joseph Haxan’s work just a few years ago. His carefully art-directed photography, which is absolutely surreal and haunting, really feels like an expose of the human shadow. It’s worth noting that Joseph is often the subject in his images. The way that he combines nature and bodies is truly transcendent. Bodies become part of the landscape in a way that is animalistic, almost like an insect merging with extreme nature and a choreographed energy. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in the future.
“His work focuses on the occult and the natural world. He believes these forces are inextricably linked. By exploring these subjects, Joseph envisions how ancient and modern humanity is formed in the shadow of such powers. “ ~ From Joseph’s website bio.
Yung Cheng Lin (aka 3CM) // Untitled Photographs
Yung Cheng Lin never ceases to amaze. His more subtle yet extreme images of body reconstructions and augmentations have imprinted in my mind for years. I really enjoy the simplicity of the tools and material that he uses. That really highlights how in some cases, intention and juxtaposition are superior to complex execution. The Spike prosthetic that I’ve worn really follows this minimalistic approach. It’s very severe, challenging the laws of physicality and gravity, yet very simple in its design.
Jeremy Geddes // “Imperator”, 2017 and “Wilderness”, 2019
When I think about the past and future, Jeremy Geddes’ art perspective perfectly resonates with that kind of dreaming and longing. The fact that he uses paint to execute his works makes them even more unusual. “Imperator”, along with Jeremy’s cosmonaut depictions with birds, never fail to elevate my spirit into some sort of a place of weightlessness. Imagination has no gravity, no real time stamp – we can hover somewhere between time.
Adrian Flores aka Juanita Care // Dental Jewelry
Adrian Flores truly takes wearable and mouth jewellery design to the next level. This specific piece comes to life in an art film. It’s what beautiful nightmares are made of.
Cordelia Speed from Dazed elaborates: ‘Drawing on their fascination with medical imagery and shamanism, Juanita creates pieces that harmonise their “poetry and more personal reflections on changing bodies”. The result is the transformation of what we recognise as human to that of an alternate dimension, Juanita’s horror-fantasy.’
This is the final creative inspiration that Viktoria Modesta selected for her Beautiful Bizarre social media TAKE OVER. Thank you Viktoria for compiling such intriguing visual stimulation for our art community. We really appreciate your effort and generosity!
